..Our results also indicate that the branding of the proximate effects of maternal glucocorticoids on offspring as negative ignores the possibility that short-term phenotypic changes may actually increase maternal fitness...

Corticosterone levels during post-natal development in captive American kestrels (Falco sparverius)

..Data are consistent with immunity being a highly plastic trait that is sex-specifically modulated in a context-dependent manner and suggest that immunity at one stage may provide limited information about immunity at future stages...

Using life-histories to predict and interpret variability in yolk hormones

..Together with recent studies in other vertebrate taxa, these results suggest that maternal stress hormones provide a mechanistic link between maternal quality and sex-biased maternal investment in offspring...

..Future work should consider that reproductive workload is not limited to offspring care, and other activities - including territory defence - may contribute significantly to the costs of reproduction. ..